On being a student...
 
Our lounge had half a motorbike
on newspaper on the floor
There was a guy living under our stairs
he was there for a month or more
 
And a Smiths fan called Alan
studying to be an architect
built a tomb for himself out of beer cans
in the garden one night while wrecked
 
There were hotknives in the kitchen
and never a scrap of food to be seen
strangers all over the house
new life forms destroyed, if ever the cooker was cleaned
 
Beer more urgent than heating.
the bath full of cold Diamond White
The house was a shithole
but it was a party every night.

Zen Joel (b. 1970)